Mark 3:1-6, The Man with a Withered Hand (The Study of Mark)

     1 And he went into the Synagogue again. And a man was there having a withered1 hand. 2 And they2 were watching him closely3 to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he says to the man who has the withered hand, “Get up among the midst of them4.” 4 And he says to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life5, or to kill life?” But they were silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger, feeling sorry for the stubbornness6 of their hearts, he says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and his hand was healed7. 6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately began making plans8 with the Herodians against him; how they might destroy him.

Introduction

This is the second of two events that happened on the same Sabbath.  The first event was the picking of grain on the Sabbath.

1 ἐξηραμμένην (withered) Dried up from paralysis or withered like a tree branch cut from the tree.

2 ”They” are the Pharisees. They had just witnessed the “plucking of the grain” on the Sabbath, so they were very happy with Jesus already. It may have been that the “plucking the grain” incident happened as they were on their way to the Synagogue.

3 παρετήρουν αὐτὸν (watching him closely) or “observed him closely”.

4 ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον (Get up among the midst of them) 

Greek: “Rise up into the middle”. Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone was going to see what he was going to do.

5 ψυχὴν (life) This is also used for “soul”.

6 πωρώσει (stubbornness) 

Greek: “hardness”. From BDAG, “State or condition of complete lack of understanding.”

7 ἀπεκατεστάθη (was healed) 

Greek: “was restored”

8 συμβούλιον ἐδίδουν (making plans)

Greek: “giving council” The Pharisees (religious leaders) decided to form an alliance with the Herodians (Government). The Government would have been the only ones who would have had the authority to put Jesus to death.

The Greek

     Μάρκον 3·1 Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν συναγωγήν. καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος ἐξηραμμένην ἔχων τὴν χεῖρα. 2 καὶ παρετήρουν αὐτὸν εἰ τοῖς σάββασιν θεραπεύσει αὐτόν, ἵνα κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ. 3 καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ τὴν ξηρὰν χεῖρα ἔχοντι· ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον. 4 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων. 5 καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ ̓ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα. καὶ ἐξέτεινεν καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ. 6 καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι εὐθὺς μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν συμβούλιον ἐδίδουν κατ ̓ αὐτοῦ ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν.

1 John 4:1-6, (The Spirit of Misleading)

     1 Beloved, don’t believe2 every spirit, but examine3 the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false-prophets have gone out into the world. 2 In this way, you will know the Spirit of God: Every Spirit who professes4 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh5 is from God. 3 And every spirit that doesn’t profess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of antichrist6, which you have heard that is coming and is now in the world already. 4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them7 , because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world, for this reason, they speak from the world’s perspective8 and the world listens9 them. 6 We are from God; the one who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God doesn’t listen to us10. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of misleading11.

Introduction

I must admit, I have not reviewed this text in a long time and I can honestly say to you that this text doesn't speak to me the way that it once did.  I've done much studying on early Christianity and one of the biggest problems that early christians had was the belief that Jesus was not a man and was pure spirit.  Early christianity had many beliefs.  One of those beliefs gave rise to a group of people that came to be known as Gnostics.  Gnostics believed that they had received "special" knowledge from God about Jesus and about salvation.  One of the main ideas that they had was the thought that there was no way for God to die in sin to become an ultimate sacrifice for people's sin.  This gave way to the idea that Jesus didn't die at all, which gave way to Jesus was not a man, but a spirit that could not die.  This is an over-simplification of one view that the Gnostics had, but I believe that idea is why John wrote this passage in today's Blog.  I would encourage you to study early Christianity and all of the different beliefs that were floating around at the time.  It will help you to understand the New Testament much better and why things were written like they were.

1 ψευδοπροφῆται (false-prophets)

“pseudo-prophets”. pseudo means phony, artificial, fake, or deceptive. False-prophets teach false teachings. John is identifying how the “wrong” spirit has gotten distributed among the people of the world.

2 πιστεύετε (believe) 

or “have faith in”

3 δοκιμάζετε (examine) 

“Test”. Make sure the spirit is genuine.

4 ὁμολογεῖ (professes) 

Or “confesses”.

5 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh

This is a somewhat strange test as a spirit could tell a lie. It’s possible that this passage is directed toward the Gnostics of the day. During the first and second centuries, most Gnostics didn’t believe that Jesus was a man and that he didn’t have a real body. They believed that Jesus only seemed to have a real body because they didn’t think that God could die in sin as it was portrayed that Jesus did for mankind.  So, it you asked them if "Jesus came in the flesh?", then they would have to say "no".

6 τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου (of antichrist)

Antichrist is the complete opposite of Christ. In other words, if you didn’t believe that Christ came as a man, then you believed the opposite of what Jesus was.

7 νενικήκατε αὐτούς (you have conquered them) 

In other words, the true believers of God didn’t fall victim to the heresies of other teachings.

8 ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν (they speak from the world’s perspective)

Greek: “they speak from the world”. "Perspective" has been added for clarity. In other words, they speak from what the world believes or how the world sees it and not how God sees it.

9 ἀκούει (listens) 

Greek: “hears”

10 doesn’t listen to us

Greek: “doesn’t hear us”. In other words, they didn’t believe the truth about Jesus, so they are not from God. They don’t hear because they don’t believe what we believe.

11 τῆς πλάνης (of misleading)

Most translations render this “of deception”. The word is the noun form of the greek verb πλανάω, which means “to lead astray” or “to lead off the path”.  It is interesting how John uses the idea that a "spirit" is to blame for the mis-teaching.  It adds to the validity of what John says is true and what he says is not true.  To be influenced by a "spirit" would have really driven the idea home for the early christians.

The Greek

Ἰωάννου α 4·1 Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ 1 ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον. 2 ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, 3 καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη. Ἰωάννου α 4·4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. 5 αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει. 6 ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν, ὁ γινώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν, ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης.

Mark 2:23-28, Plucking Grain on the Sabbath (The Study of Mark)

     23 And it came to pass1 that he was passing through the grain- field on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way2 while picking the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to him, “Look! Why are they doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never3 read what David did when he and they with him were in need and hungry, 26 how he went into the house of God when Abiathar4 was high-priest, and ate the bread loaves offered to God, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priest, and he also gave to them who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made5 for6 mankind7 and not mankind for the Sabbath, 28 therefore, the Son of Man is Master8 even9 of the Sabbath.”

1 Καὶ ἐγένετο (And it came to pass) 

Greek: “It became”

2 ἤρξαντο ὁδὸν ποιεῖν (began to make their way)

Greek: “they began to make way”. This could mean that they were clearing a way by picking the grain. If so, that would add to the Pharisees’ idea that the disciples were working on the Sabbath.

3 οὐδέποτε (never)

In Greek, a negative reference can be used to infer a “yes” or “no” answer. In this case, since οὐδέποτε is used instead of μηδέποτε, the expected answer from the Pharisees is “yes”. In other words, Jesus knew that the Pharisees had read the passage and expected a “yes” answer from them.

4 Variant reading. Ahimolech was high-priest, not Abiathar. 

5 ἐγένετο (was made)

Greek: “came into existence” or “became”.

6 διὰ (for) 

A greek preposition meaning “on account of”, or “because of”.

7 τὸν ἄνθρωπον (mankind) 

Greek: “man”. The Sabbath was made for all people.

8 κύριός (Master)

This is translated most of the time at “Lord”, but it can also be translated as “master”, or “sir”. The context must decide. Since Jesus is showing his authority in this passage, I felt that “Master of the Sabbath” fit the context better.

9 καὶ (also)

καὶ can also mean “even”. Both translations would show that Jesus’ authority includes the Sabbath as well.

The Greek

     Μάρκον 2·23 Καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν παραπορεύεσθαι διὰ τῶν σπορίμων, καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἤρξαντο ὁδὸν ποιεῖν τίλλοντες τοὺς στάχυας. 24 καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· ἴδε τί ποιοῦσιν τοῖς σάββασιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν; 25 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε τί ἐποίησεν Δαυὶδ ὅτε χρείαν ἔσχεν καὶ ἐπείνασεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μετ ̓ αὐτοῦ, 26 πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἱερεῖς, καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν; 27 καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· τὸ σάββατον διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐγένετο καὶ οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ σάββατον· 28 ὥστε κύριός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου.

Mark 2:18-22, The Question about Fasting (The Study of Mark)

     18 And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting1 . And they came saying to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast2, but your disciples don’t fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests3 are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they? As long as they have the bride-groom with them, they are not able to fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom might be taken away4 from them, and then, in that day, they will fast.

     21 No one sews an un-shrunken piece of cloth onto an old garment, otherwise, the patch5 pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one puts6 new7 wine8 into old wineskins9, otherwise, the wine will burst10 the wineskin and the wine and the wineskin will be ruined11, but new wine is placed into new wineskins.

1 Introduction on Fasting

Jewish people fasted on major religious days per Jewish law, but the Pharisees also added to that by fasting two days per week. This is one of those days deemed by the Pharisees as a day to fast and not a normal day of fast as deemed by Jewish law.

2 This begs the question, “How did they know who was fasting and who was not?” The answer lies in Matthew 6:16-17.

3 οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος (the wedding guest) 

Greek: “the sons of the wedding hall”.

4 ἀπαρθῇ (might be taken away) 

This can also be translated “might be lead away”. It’s an allusion to Jesus’ future arrest and crucifixion.

5 πλήρωμα (patch) 

Greek: “fullness”. In other words, the hole in the garment is filled.

6 βάλλει (puts)

Greek: “throws” or “casts”. A strange verb to be used in this context. Mark may be using this to explain how haphazard or careless it is to put new wine into old wine-skins.

7 νέον (new)

Greek: “young”. Wine that has not been around very long. In other words, grape juice that has not gone through the fermentation process yet.

8 οἶνος (wine) 

Fermented grape juice.

9 ἀσκοὺς (wineskin) 

A wineskin was a leather bag.

10 Burst

Wine had to be placed in new wineskins because of the fermentation process. During fermentation, the wine would release gases that would expand the wineskins and stretch them out. Old wineskins would have already lost their ability to stretch, thus they would be be able to take the expanding gas of the fermentation process a second time.

11 ἀπόλλυται (ruined) 

Greek: “destroyed”

The Greek

     Μάρκον 2·18 Καὶ ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύοντες. καὶ ἔρχονται καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· διὰ τί οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ τῶν Φαρισαίων νηστεύουσιν, οἱ δὲ σοὶ μαθηταὶ οὐ νηστεύουσιν; 19 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ δύνανται οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἐν ᾧ ὁ νυμφίος μετ ̓ αὐτῶν ἐστιν νηστεύειν; ὅσον χρόνον ἔχουσιν τὸν νυμφίον μετ ̓ αὐτῶν οὐ δύνανται νηστεύειν. 20 ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι ὅταν ἀπαρθῇ ἀπ ̓ αὐτῶν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ τότε νηστεύσουσιν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. 

     21 Οὐδεὶς ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου ἐπιράπτει ἐπὶ ἱμάτιον παλαιόν· εἰ δὲ μή, αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ καὶ χεῖρον σχίσμα γίνεται. 22 καὶ οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς· εἰ δὲ μή, ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἀπόλλυται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί· ἀλλὰ οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινούς.

Mark 2:13-17, The Calling of Levi (The Study of Mark)

     13 And he went out again along side of the sea1, and the whole crowd came to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And while passing by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office2, and says to him, “Follow me!” And getting up, he followed him.

     15 And it came to pass3, that he was dining4 in his house, and many tax-collectors and sinners5 were dining6 with Jesus and his disciples: For there were many and they were following him. 16 And the Scribes of the Pharisees, seeing that he was eating7 with sinners and tax-collectors, said to his disciples, “Why is he eating with tax-collectors and sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus says to them, “Those8 who are strong do not have need for a doctor, but those who are sick9 do. I did not come to call righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:13-17

Introduction

This is a two-fold story about Jesus calling Levi (Matthew) to be a disciple.  One thing that is interesting to note happens in verses 15 and 16.  Mark puts "tax-collectors" before "sinners" in the sentence of verse 15.  Remember, in Greek, if the author wants to show some emphasis on someone or something, he will put it at the beginning of the sentence or clause.  Notice that in the beginning of verse 16 he places "sinners" before "tax-collectors" when referring to what the Scribes are seeing.  When the Scribes question the disciples about it at the end of verse 16, Mark switches the word order again.  Why do you think Mark keeps changing the order?  What does that really tell us about the Scribes?

1 Sea of Galilee

2 ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον (at the tax office)

Greek: “on the tax office or booth”. The booth was probably some type of platform.

3 Καὶ γίνεται (And it came to pass) 

Greek: “And it became”.

4 κατακεῖσθαι (was dining)

Greek: “laid down” or “reclined”. In the 1st century, the custom was to recline on pillows at short tables to have meals. Since that concept is a little foreign today, I’ve translated it it “was dining”.

5 Sinners: People who were not keeping the law of Moses.

6 συνανέκειντο (were dining)

Greek: “to recline together”. See note 5.

7 ἐσθίει (was eating)

Greek: “is eating”. A historical present. The construction is common in the New Testament. In this case, Mark has written this book to be read aloud, so keeping things in the present, aid the readers in the delivery of the content of the message.

8 Greek: “The ones” 9 οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες (those who are sick)

Greek: “the ones who are having badly”. An idiom for sick.

The Greek

     Μάρκον 2·13 Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν πάλιν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς. 14 Καὶ παράγων εἶδεν Λευὶν τὸν τοῦ Ἁλφαίου καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· ἀκολούθει μοι. καὶ ἀναστὰς ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῷ. 

     Μάρκον 2·15 Καὶ γίνεται κατακεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πολλοὶ τελῶναι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ συνανέκειντο τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· ἦσαν γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ ἠκολούθουν αὐτῷ. 16 καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν Φαρισαίων ἰδόντες ὅτι ἐσθίει μετὰ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ τελωνῶν ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει; 17 καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς [ὅτι] οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ ̓ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς.

Mark 2:1-12, The Healing of a Paralytic (The Study of Mark)

     1 And going again into Capernaum after several days1, it was heard that he is at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even around the door2 , and he was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came bringing a paralytic to him being carried by four men. 4 And not being able to bring the man to him because of the crowd, they removed3 the roof4 where he was and after digging out the roof, they lowered the mat5 where the paralytic was laying. 5 And after seeing their faith, Jesus says to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven6 .” 6 And there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why is this one speaking in this manner? He is blaspheming7 . Who is able to forgive sins except the one God8 ?” 8 And immediately, knowing in his spirit that they are reasoning within themselves this way, Jesus says to them, “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? 9 What is easier, to say to the paralytic ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘Get up, take up your mat and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the son of man9 has the authority to forgive sins on the earth10”--He says to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, take up your mat, and go into your house.” 12 And he got up immediately, took up the mat, and went out before all of them11, so that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Introduction

In this scene, we will see Jesus enter into the “boldness” camp. We will see how his authority unfolds. This will also mark Jesus’ first opposition. In this case, he is receiving opposition from the Scribes, which were the “educated” among the Jews of the Galilee. Here, we will see the local Scribes question Jesus, but later, that will escalate to the Scribes in Jerusalem.

Occasionally, my translation will state something in the present that obviously happens in the past.  This can be seen in verse 1 (it was heard that he is at home).  This is the literal greek of the passage and it's call a "historical present".  It is part of the style of the author.  I tend to keep this small stylist writing in my translations. (Correction: This is not a historical present.  This has to do with indirect discourse and should be translated as "it was heard that he was at home".  Apparently, "to be" verbs are not considered a historical present when featured in indirect discourse.  I'm still learning!)

1 δι ̓ ἡμερῶν (after several days)

Greek: “through days”. This references time, so this indicates that enough time had passed since “and they were coming to him from everywhere” in verse 45, that Jesus was able to go into Capernaum again. The excitement had either died down enough for him to get back home (to Peter’s house?) or he was able to get into the city undetected.

2 μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν (not even around the door)

Greek: “not even the areas/spaces toward the door” Mark’s picture here is to show that the house and all around the door was being filled. No one was going be able to get in.

3 ἀπεστέγασαν (They removed)

It would be more like “They dug through”. The roof was considered living space, so it would have been very sturdy being made of timber and branches dipped in mud. In other words, it would have been a big deal to dig through the room. It was not an easy task. What’s even more shocking is that no one tried to stop them!

4 Roof

So how did the four men get up on the roof? In the 1st century, most houses were built as single level house with a staircase to the roof. The roof was considered living space and was part of the house. The size of the house was determined by the kind of timber that was available to the builder. Most houses were around 20ft to 25ft by 20ft to 25ft. The roof would have had a rail around it so that people would not fall off.

Deuteronomy 22:8, If you build a new house, you must construct a guard rail around your roof to avoid being culpable in the event someone should fall from it. NET Bible

5 τὸν κράβαττον (a mat) A mat or mattress. A poor man’s bed.

6 τέκνον, ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι (Child, your sins are forgiven)

τέκνον: “child” Most translations render it as “son”. We meet ἀφίημι again. In this case, it is used as “forgive”. Think of it this way. “Your sins are let go”, or “Your sins are leaving”.

Russell Theology Moment

So, why does Jesus state to the paralytic that his sins are forgiven? The most obvious reason would be to show his authority, but there may be something else here. We know from the book of Job that sin and suffering are not necessarily connected. With that said, it is possible for sin and suffering to be connected. Mark may be indirectly showing us that in this text. We know from Deuteronomy 22:8 that a rail is suppose to be on the roof in order to keep someone from falling off. What if this man fell from his own rooftop where he didn’t have a rail? He would be guilty of the sin of not having the rail and his suffering is now related to that sin.

7 βλασφημεῖ (he is blaspheming)

Normally, blaspheming meant to speak the divine name of God (Yahweh), but in this case, it was used because Jesus was claiming to be able to forgive sins just like God could.

8 εἷς ὁ θεός (The one God)

“The one God” was used to reinforce the idea that Jesus was blaspheming.

9 ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (the son of man)

This is the first time that Jesus uses this title for himself in Mark. “The son of man” derives from Daniel 7:13-14. During Daniel’s time, the phrase was not used as a title for “Messiah”. That idea of the passage was developed by Jews at a later time, which was introduced here by Jesus.

10 ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς (on the earth)

This expands things that were thought to be only “heavenly” to “earthly”. According to Daniel 7:13-14, The Son of Man received from God an authority that was to be exercised over all the earth.

11 ἔμπροσθεν πάντων (before all of them)

Greek: “Before all”. This was a very public event not only for Jesus, but also for the Scribes. Something that they were not soon to forget.

The Passage in Greek

Μάρκον 2·1 Καὶ εἰσελθὼν πάλιν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ δι ̓ ἡμερῶν ἠκούσθη ὅτι ἐν οἴκῳ ἐστίν. 2 καὶ συνήχθησαν πολλοὶ ὥστε μηκέτι χωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν, καὶ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον. 3 καὶ ἔρχονται φέροντες πρὸς αὐτὸν παραλυτικὸν αἰρόμενον ὑπὸ τεσσάρων. 4 καὶ μὴ δυνάμενοι προσενέγκαι αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην ὅπου ἦν, καὶ ἐξορύξαντες χαλῶσι τὸν κράβαττον ὅπου ὁ παραλυτικὸς κατέκειτο. 5 καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ· τέκνον, ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι. 6 ἦσαν δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων ἐκεῖ καθήμενοι καὶ διαλογιζόμενοι ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν· 7 τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ; βλασφημεῖ· τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός; 8 καὶ εὐθὺς ἐπιγνοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτως διαλογίζονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγει αὐτοῖς· τί ταῦτα διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν; 9 τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ· ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν· ἔγειρε καὶ ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει; 10 ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς _ λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ· 11 σοὶ λέγω, ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. 12 καὶ ἠγέρθη καὶ εὐθὺς ἄρας τὸν κράβαττον ἐξῆλθεν ἔμπροσθεν πάντων, ὥστε ἐξίστασθαι πάντας καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν θεὸν λέγοντας ὅτι οὕτως οὐδέποτε εἴδομεν.

Mark 1:40-45, The Cleansing of a Leper (The Study of Mark)

Μάρκον 1·40 Καὶ ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτὸν λεπρὸς παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν [καὶ γονυπετῶν] καὶ λέγων αὐτῷ ὅτι ἐὰν θέλῃς δύνασαί με καθαρίσαι. 41 καὶ σπλαγχνισθεὶς ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἥψατο καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· θέλω, καθαρίσθητι· 42 καὶ εὐθὺς ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ ἡ λέπρα, καὶ ἐκαθαρίσθη. 43 καὶ ἐμβριμησάμενος αὐτῷ εὐθὺς ἐξέβαλεν αὐτὸν 44 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· ὅρα μηδενὶ μηδὲν εἴπῃς, ἀλλὰ ὕπαγε σεαυτὸν δεῖξον τῷ ἱερεῖ καὶ προσένεγκε περὶ τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ σου ἃ προσέταξεν Μωϋσῆς, εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς. 45 ὁ δὲ ἐξελθὼν ἤρξατο κηρύσσειν πολλὰ καὶ διαφημίζειν τὸν λόγον, ὥστε μηκέτι αὐτὸν δύνασθαι φανερῶς εἰς πόλιν εἰσελθεῖν, ἀλλ ̓ ἔξω ἐπ ̓ ἐρήμοις τόποις ἦν· καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντοθεν.

Translation

     40 And a leper1 comes to him begging him, kneeling before him, and saying to him, “If you would be willing2 , you are able to cleanse me." 41 And being compassionate3, stretching out his hand, he touched him and says to him, “I am willing. Be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy departed4 from him and he was cleansed. 43 And strictly warning5 him, he immediately threw6 him out, 44 and says to him, “See that you speak nothing to anyone7, but go show yourself to a priest and offer what Moses commanded concerning your cleansing as evidence to them8. 45 But going out, he began to proclaim and to spread the word around a lot, so that he was no longer able to openly go into a city, but was outside in deserted places, but they were coming to him from everywhere9.

1 Introduction

This is one of the most dramatic scenes where Jesus heals a person in the book of Mark. What makes it dramatic is the language that is used and the variant reading that may possibly be original. There are two things that you need to be known before going into this scene. 1. Touching a leper was against Jewish law. 2. A leper was not suppose to approach non-leprous people. In fact, lepers were “cut off” from society and had to announce that they were unclean if anyone came near to them.

2 ἐὰν θέλῃς (if you would be willing)

The verb θέλῃς is in the subjunctive. That adds a probability factor to the verb, thus the translation “if you would or may be willing”. In other words, the leper doesn’t know if Jesus will heal him or not. The way that the leper asked the question indicates that he doesn’t know what to expect from Jesus’ by way of a response. This teaches us that the leper had heard of Jesus even though he was cut off from the rest of society and was hoping for a miracle.

3 σπλαγχνισθεὶς (being compassionate)

This may be one of the most interesting variant readings in Mark. It is found in most documents, but the oldest documents has “being angry”. The scholars are back and forth on this one. Most agree that “being compassionate” is the original, but there is still much evidence to suggest that “being angry” could be the original. As one would not have to argue for “being compassionate” since Jesus was know for that, one could argue that “being angry” is original for the following reasons: 1. The leper was no suppose to approach “clean” people according to Jewish Law. 2. The leper was suppose to shout “unclean, unclean” if anyone came near. 3. The language that is used following the healing.

4 ἀπῆλθεν (departed) Or “went away”. The text indicates that the leprosy vanished before

their eyes.

5 ἐμβριμησάμενος (strictly warning)

This is a stunning passage! We don’t know what Jesus was “strictly warning” him about, it could just have been "speak nothing to anyone", but it could have been more than that.  It could have been that Jesus didn’t want him to speak to anyone about this, or it could be because Jesus was angry with him. More insight comes in the very next line.

6 εὐθὺς ἐξέβαλεν αὐτὸν (he immediately threw him out)

ἐξέβαλεν is the same verb that is used when Jesus casts out demons. It is very surprising and stunning to see it used here against a man that Jesus just healed. This may add to the debate that Jesus was angry with the leper.

So why would Jesus be angry? There are several valid reasons.

• The leper was breaking Jewish law by coming 

• Jesus could have been angry with the situation of the man being sick 

• Jesus could foresee that the man wouldn’t do what he told him to do

7 μηδενὶ μηδὲν (nothing to anyone)

Greek: “nothing to no one” The double negative was used to reinforce “no” or “don’t”. It may not be good english, but it’s great greek.

8 εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς. (as evidence to them)

Who is them? Well, the text doesn’t say, but we can assume that Jesus is referring to the priests. In order for the man to do what was required by Moses, he had to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the only place he could become “clean” in Jewish law. He had to go to the temple. It is possible that the man didn’t do this which made Jesus angry, but we don’t have any evidence of such. If he did make the journey to Jerusalem, can you imagine what he told those priest!

9 Final notes

This was such a big deal that Jesus was not able to go into any city, but the crowd still found him where ever he was. The phrase “but they were coming to him from everywhere” indicates that Jesus had become so popular during this time, that he was never alone. This may also account for the journey of the healed man. If he went to Jerusalem, he would have told many people what had happened to him including priests! We can be assured that it did take some time for all of this to calm down.